Bottega Toscana

Bottega Toscana is a Tuscan trattoria at 26 Bank Street in the main dining strip of Port Fairy, on Victoria's southwest coast. It is known for pasta made fresh in-house each day, and for dogs it is a footpath proposition: the street-side tables out the front are where your dog is welcome, while the main dining room indoors stays human-only.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome on a lead at the outdoor tables on the Bank Street footpath. There is no enclosed courtyard, so this is open street-side seating and it can be busy on summer evenings. Bring your own water bowl, pick a table out of the foot traffic, and confirm you want a footpath table when you book so you are not seated inside on arrival.

The menu

The cooking is traditional Tuscan with local produce: fresh house-made pasta including the fusilli with garlic prawns, slow-cooked ossobuco, garlic prawns and house-made foccacia, with gluten-free options available. Service is dinner only, from 5:30pm most evenings, so this is an evening sit rather than a lunch stop. Book ahead, especially through summer and festival weekends, either by phone on (03) 5568 2251 or online.

Getting there and parking

Bank Street is the heart of Port Fairy's dining strip, an easy walk from the wharf end of town. Street parking runs along Bank Street and the side streets, and it tightens over summer and during the Port Fairy Folk Festival.

Close by with the dogs

Bank Street itself is good for a pre-dinner stroll, and the Moyne River walk is close for an on-lead leg-stretch. For other dog-friendly meals in town, the Merrijig Kitchen is the historic local pick, and Borough Chambers covers the daytime coffee rounds.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly restaurants guide and the Port Fairy destination page.